Freedom for Greayer Clover

Posted by John Jerabek333.20sc on March 19, 2017

Any city government in America attempting to restrict access to working public transportation infrastructure built with federal dollars, on land paid for by a municipal bond to support that infrastructure, carries with it the hallmark of capricious decision making by public officials.

Flying to Santa Monica Airport from across the country and around the world has been reality for a century. The facility was built and paid for by the USA in 1946 and gifted to Santa Monica in 1948 on the condition it would remain an airport, on land purchased by residents in 1926 via municipal bond for “Municipal Flying Fields” already operating and memorialized as Clover Field in use by the US Army Air Service since 1923, and an operational aerodrome/airpark/airfield since 1917.

The City of Santa Monica faces multiple lawsuits, filling one third of the Federal Aviation Administration Docket for Airport Compliance nationally and has won nothing. The January 30, 2017 Santa Monica Airport Settlement Agreement and Consent Decree was assembled and agreed to in the twilight between administrations by an Acting Secretary of Transportation and an Acting City Attorney led by a City Manager and newly elected Mayor both with a long train in the public record of their attempts to usurp and abuse the public trust by restricting access.

The recent inquiry dated March 14, 2017 by Representative Abraham of Louisiana's 5th District to newly sworn in Secretary Chao, FAA Administrator Huerta and copied to the bipartisan House Committee on Transportation and House Subcommittee on Aviation regarding the Santa Monica Airport Settlement Agreement and Consent Decree rightfully calls into question this apparent departure from long standing principles held by the federal government, its stated objectives and the impact the restrictions would have on the nation.

If we abide by the rules of the government we have chosen, the truths we are facing are self-evident. The restrictions imposed by the Santa Monica Airport Settlement and Consent Decree are destructive and must be abolished.

Therefore, in the name US Army Air Service Second Lieutenant Greayer “Grubby” Clover and all Americans before and since, We the People call for the full restoration of our unalienable rights to access the heavens from Santa Monica’s Clover Field and for new guards to future security. Liberté pour Grubby et liberté pour tous!

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Thank you. I will testify for the airport as necessary to our community safety and security. I live on the flight path. The sm city council has an agenda supporting big development in santa monica. Developers want the land. We want our neighborhoods.

Danielle Charney commented
2017-03-20 21:36:19 -0700

Great John- short and sweet and so to the point- hopefully this land grab by the grubby little hands operating behind closed doors as they so often do- will fall apart -

Martin Rubin commented
2017-03-20 12:26:48 -0700

For more than 30 years, neither the FAA nor the City of Santa Monica has made an effort to curtail toxic air pollution from SMO aircraft operations. This is the core of the problem. Legal talk about agreements etc. will not change the air quality. Ignoring it will not change it either. Pointing the finger at other sources of pollution will not diminish the amount of aircraft pollution. Neither will asking people to move. Stop bullying SMO neighbors.

Peter Hartmann commented
2017-03-20 10:04:53 -0700

What nonsense, Mr. Jarabek ! Your very well-written complaint is about as relevant to today’s USA, today’s culture, as an ADF !

Where have you been the last 30+ years? No access to newspapers or television? Airports and aviation are for countries and cultures that see themselves as modern and industrial. For example, they are building new general aviation airports in China and India as fast as they can lay down pavement.

Here in the USA, if you go to the website “Airport2Park” you will find they feature articles about CLOSING airports. That kind of mind looks forward to the glories of a “post-industrial” society. We don’t need privately operated cars and airplanes in the glorious “post-industrial” society. That’s, where everything, including mass transit, nicely compacted government supplied housing, is provided by the government.

Been on a university campus in recent years ? You will find that you either adopt and advocate what is “politically correct” at any given moment, or you will be censored. Harshly.

I took my first flying lessons at KSMO, (Mel Lind Flight School was roughly diagonally across the street where the Hughes DC-6 was parked)back in the late 1950’s. I know what a “quiet, pastoral small airport” KSMO was in those days – yeah…sure… heavy airline-category prop. planes roaring in and out at all hours, burning 100-130 (heavily leaded) aviation fuel. The noise and smell in those days would make today’s executive jets seem like a church social…!

Think ! We no longer make aircraft in Santa Monica. What do we encourage in Santa Monica these days? What we do make is lots more people to be packed into ever tighter areas. That’s where the money is – that’s the future…. if you are “connected”.